Browse films

Let the People Decide

Gavin Guerra
United States, 2019, 108 min.

In English.
Includes violence and adult language.

AIFF Award Winner:
Special Jury Award for Historical Filmmaking

"Stealing elections" and "illegal voting" can sound like words meant to whip southern white voters into a frenzy. To the mid-twentieth century activists who lived the brutal history of voter intimidation and literacy tests, the current voter ID debate recalls a familiar tune. Now, the legal battle over voting rights in North Carolina puts a new generation of activists in all-too-familiar territory–fighting laws specifically enacted to intimidate and disenfranchise African Americans at the polls.

Director's Statement

In discussions of present day issues that have been around for generations, historical context is essential. Despite living in what we call "The Information Age", dis-information and misinformation are widespread. The purpose of this film is to give the conversation about voting rights that much needed context. This film shows that the struggle over who gets to vote did not erupt from a vacuum, but is woven deep into our national fabric.

Category: Documentary, Feature Doc, Award Winner, Best of Fest.
Themes: Politics, Historical, Social Justice.

More in Documentary

  • Rojek

    Rojek

    Zaynê Akyol
    Canada, 2022, 127 min.

    Rojek encounters incarcerated members of the Islamic State from all over the world, as well as their wives detained in prison-camps, who are sharing a... more ›

  • Gath & K'iyh: Listen to Heal

    Gath & K'iyh: Listen to Heal

    Princess Daazhraii Johnson
    United States, 2024, 7 min.

    In Alaska, community comes together to create music with Yo-Yo Ma as a critical part of collective healing and radical hope for the future... more ›

  • Silent Fallout

    Silent Fallout

    Hideaki Ito
    Japan, 2023, 76 min.

    Narrated by Alec Baldwin, this documentary is by a Japanese director about the world's biggest environmental problem! The U.S. government dropped 101 atomic... more ›